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Verstappen benefited from a strategy call from the British team that flew in the face of decisions made by every other team during an initial safety car deployment

It was a expensive choice that gave up track position to Verstappen in the closing laps and retrospectively threw away the race win for the Australian driver

Race Outcome and Championship Consequences

The race winner won to take his seventh victory of the campaign, equalling the McLaren drivers, while the Australian was second and the Briton fourth behind the Williams of the Spanish driver

The McLaren driver earned an extra two points by passing Kimi Antonelli's Silver Arrow on the penultimate lap

The championship leader has been left with a twelve point lead over Verstappen, who overtook Piastri by four points heading to Abu Dhabi on December 5-7

To win the championship, the British driver must finish at least third at Abu Dhabi if his rival takes victory next race day

Critical Moments of the Thrilling Grand Prix

• McLaren's choice not to stop when a yellow flag was called on the seventh lap for a crash between the French team's Pierre Gasly and Sauber's Hulkenberg
• A decision led by the Australian to bring forward his last pit stop in a last-ditch effort to catch the leader came to nothing
• A unexpected second podium for Sainz handed by the team's strategy call

The Way McLaren Lost Out in The Race

The critical point for McLaren was when Gasly and Hulkenberg collided as the Hulkenberg tried to overtake the Gasly around the exterior of the first corner on lap seven

The German's car was damaged beside the circuit That brought out the safety car

The crucial part of the timing was that it meant there were 50 laps remaining in the race

With the tire manufacturer enforcing a 25-lap safety limit on the tires, that signified anyone who made a stop at that time was locked into a fixed plan with a second stop on the thirty-second lap

Driver Reactions and Post-Race Statements

Speechless

Piastri commented in his after-race interview: Clearly we made mistakes tonight I drove the strongest performance I was capable of, as quick as I possible, but there was no more pace out there Tried my utmost but couldn't secure victory

Verstappen stated: That represented an incredible race for us Our team executed the right call to box That proved intelligent Furthermore super-happy to win here and remain competitive to the end, remarkable

Ultimate Grand Prix Positions

• 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
• 2. Piastri (McLaren)
• 3. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
• 4. Lando Norris (McLaren Racing)
• 5. Antonelli (Mercedes-AMG)
• 6. George Russell (Mercedes)
• 7. Alonso (Aston Martin)
• 8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
• 9. Lawson (RB F1 Team)
• 10. Tsunoda (Red Bull)

What's Next?

The crucial championship finale at the Yas Marina This venue does not create the most exciting racing, but once again this twilight race features an contest which appears set to become every bit as dramatic as Sebastian Vettel's maiden championship in twenty-ten, or the Dutch driver's highly controversial initial championship in 2021